Hair styling roller with rectilinear ribs integrally joined with longitudinally extending coil



Apnl 18, 1967 M. B. WINKLER 3,314,435-

HAIR STYLING ROLLER WITH RECTILINEAR RIBS INTEGRALLY JOINED WITH LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING COIL Filed March 16, 1964 INVENTOR E00 5. 15 Moe/2m B. PEA/K452 BY 19 g 5 firroeusy.

United States Patent f 3,314,435 HAIR STYLING ROLLER WITH RECTILINEAR RIBS INTEGRALLY .IOINED WITH LONGI- TUDINALLY EXTENDKNG COIL Morris B. Winkler, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Mor- Win Products, 1116., Gardena, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Mar. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 352,286 2 Claims. (Cl. 132-40) The present invention relates to hair styling devices, and more particularly to devices on which the hair is capable of being rolled.

Hair roller devices have been used for styling a persons hair, such as for imparting 'a curl to the hair or partially removing excessive curl therefrom. Certain types of such devices embody helically wound spring-like rollers, which are relatively uncomfortable to wear, primarily because of their resistance to lateral deflection. In addition, they undergo undesirable elongation readily and often deform permanently from their initial shape, resulting in improper and uneven distribution of the hair along the roller device. Moreover, they are subject to corrosion, cannot be cleaned readily, and have sharp end portions that might catch on the hair or harm the wearer.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hair styling roller device which is comfortable to wear, relatively light, and yet of strong and sturdy construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hair styling device embodying a retaining or supporting roller including a plurality of circular ribs, turns or coils which are laterally elastic and, therefore, comfortable to the wearer, but in which the circular ribs, turns or coils are prevented from spreading or otherwise moving longitudinally with respect to each other thereby insuring the desired uniform distribution of hair along the roller.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hair styling device embodying a retaining or supporting roller devoid of sharp points, edges, or the like, at its terminal portions, thereby avoiding catching or snagging of hair or injury to the wearer.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a hair styling device embodying a sanitary retaining or supporting roller, one that will not corrode or exhibit toxicity, which can be produced economically, and which lends itself to easy sterilization, as in boiling water.

This invention possesses many other advantages, and has other objects which may be made more clearly apparent from a consideration of a form in which it may be embodied. This form is shown in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification.

It will now be described in detail, for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention; but it is to be understood that such detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a combined side elevational view and longitudinal section through a hair styling device embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section taken along the line 22 on FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation, a portion thereof being broken away, of the roller portion of the hair styling device disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section taken along the line 4-4 on FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along the line 55 on FIG. 3.

The hair styling device illustrated in the drawings includes a retaining or supporting roller that may or may 3,314,435 Patented Apr. 18, 1967 'ice not have a mesh cover 11 mounted thereon, and which may or may not also have a brush 12 disposed therewithin, the bristles 13 of which project through the roller and through the openings 14 of the mesh cover.

The retaining or supporting roller 10 may be made of any desired specific shape. The one disclosed in the drawings by way of example is generally cylindrical in form and includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced circular ribs 15 interconnected by a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinal ribs 16. The circular ribs 15 terminate in end ribs or rings 17 to which the end portions of the longitudinal ribs 16 are also secured.

The circumferential or circular ribs 15 may be formed as separate parallel n'ng members spaced longitudinally and preferably uniformly from one another by being secured to the longitudinal ribs 16, or, as disclosed in the drawings, the circular ribs 15 may be provided by helically Wound turns or coils of a suitable pitch. Thus, the coils 15 are wound about the axis of the roller 10 continuously from one end ring 17 to the opposite end ring 17 and are secured to the circumferentially spaced longitudinal ribs 16. By providing the helical circular ribs 15, the turns are integral With one another and lend greater strength to the roller device than if parallel circular ribs were provided secured to the longitudinal ribs. The longitudinal ribs 16 retain the turns or coils 15 of the helically wound member spaced axially from one another and prevent any substantial axial movement of such turns with respect to one another, thereby preventing longitudinal contraction or expansion of the roller device 10, and insuring the retention of uniform spaces 18 between the turns. The pitch of the roller turns 15 preferably is from about one third to about one eighth, that is, there are about three to about eight roller turns per inch.

The retaining and supporting roller 10 is preferably an integral or one-piece construction, being made of a sanitary material which will not corrode, and which is not toxic. It can be produced economically from a synthetic resin by injection molding, so that the end rings or terminal portions 17, the longitudinal ribs 16 and the helically wound circular ribs, turns or coils 15 are integral with one another. The material from which the roller 10 is made permits the roller to deflect in a lateral direction, the roller returning to its initial shape when the defleeting force is removed. However, because of the structure of the roller, it will not expand or contract in an axial direction. The terminals 19 of the roller are smooth and continuous, and do not present any sharp corners or edges that might catch on the hair or harm the wearer.

A suitable synthetic resin may be employed as material for the roller 10. As an example, it may be injected molded from linear polyethylene, nylon, or polypropylene. Other suitable synthetic resin may be employed. The above specific materials have desirable physical properties, in that they are elastic, will not corrode in the presence of water or hair waving solutions, are not toxic, and can be readily sterilized, as in boiling water. In general, such materials are sanitary.

The roller 10 illustrated and described will retain its dimensions except when a lateral force is imposed thereon, as might result from the head of the wearer bearing against the roller when lying on a pillow or the like. The mesh cover 11 can be made of an internal diameter conforming to the external diameter of the roller, enabling the roller to be slipped readily into the cover, whereupon the end portions 20 of the cover can be turned over the terminals 19 of the end rings 17 and disposed Within the interior of the roller, lying flush against the inner surface of the end rings and along the inner surface of the end coils or turns 15 of the roller.

The mesh cover 11 may be made of a knitted, woven or extruded material, such as polypropylene. The openings 14 in the meshcover illustrated are of diamond shape. However, any other suitable shape of opening can be employed, such as square or circular. Such openings coact with the spaces 18 between the circular ribs or turns to permit the bristles 13 of a brush 12 to project from the interior of the roller 11) to its exterior and extend beyond the periphery of the mesh cover.

The brush 12 is of generally circular shape, including an axial or central support 25, which may be made of twisted steel or aluminum wire, to which the bristles 13 are secured along its length, extending radially outwardly of the wire. The bristles are of a greater length than the radius of the cover 11 so that their end portions 26 extend through the spaces 18 between the roller ribs or coils 15 and the mesh openings 14 the desired distance beyond the exterior of the cover. The brush 12 may be inserted into the roller 10, to which the mesh cover 11 has previously been applied, to its fullest extent, the bristles then projecting outwardly through the roller spaces 18 and the mesh cover openings 14 in the manner hereinabove described.

The bristles 13 of the brush may be made of any suitable material, such as styrene, nylon, or horse hair. The brush will coact with the hair of the wearer to appropriately separate the hair strands and insure the proper coiling or turning of the hair around the hair styling device.

The hair styling device disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2 is used by winding or turning the hair around the mesh covered roller through which the bristles 13 project. The bristles will, as has been indicated above, brush the hair and separate it along the length of the device and will also tend to maintain the hair coiled around the device. The hair waving lotion may have been previously applied to the hair, or it can be applied thereto after it has been coiled around the device, as desired. While being worn, the device is laterally elastic in that it will deflect inwardly if the head of the wearer applies a lateral load to it, and will return to its initial shape, that is, will recover, when the lateral load is relieved. However, the device will not elongate or contract axially so that the substantially uniform spacing 18 between the turns 15 will not change, nor will the overall length of the mesh cover 11 become altered, which might tend to displace a portion of the hair from its intended position with respect to the roller device. The ability of the device to deflect laterally and then to recover prevents injury or discomfort to the wearer. Moreover, the fact that the ends 19 of the roller are flush prevents the roller from catching or snagging the hair, or harming the wearer.

The roller device 10 has definite dimensions and will give proper support to the mesh cover 11, assurance being had that the mesh cover is held in a fixed position on the roller during use. The mesh itself is flexible and will deform laterally when a load is applied to it, the roller returning the mesh to its initial position when the lateral load is relieved. The shape .ofthe mesh cover 11 is definitely determined since it corresponds to the shape of the roller 10. The fact that the roller has a definite shape and holds the mesh cover in a definite position allows the brush bristles 13 to project more uniformly from the exterior of the roller, both along its length and circumferentially, assuring that the bristles brush the hair and hold the strands of hair neatly arranged. The brush 12 is readily mounted in theroller and disassembled therefrom, which can be undertaken for cleaning purposes. The roller 10 and mesh cover 11 can be easily sterilized, since the materials of which they are made is not affected by boiling water, or the like, the cleaning therefrom of the hair lotion being readily effected.

I claim:

1. A one piece hair styling roller, consisting of longitudinally spaced elastic circumferentially continuous open end rings, an elastic continuous helical portion having a plurality of coils longitudinally spaced from each other and disposed between said end rings with the ends of said helical portion integral with said rings, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinal rectilinear elastic ribs integral with said end rings and with said coils adapted to hold said coils in relatively fixed longitudinal spaced relation with respect to each other while enabling said coils to deflect and deform laterally of the roller axis.

2. A one piece hair styling roller, consisting of longitudinally spaced elastic circumferentially continuous open end rings, an elastic continuous helical portion having a plurality of coils longitudinally spaced from each other and disposed between said end rings with the ends of said helical portion integral with said rings, and a plurality of circumferentially spaced longitudinal rectilinear elastic ribs integral with said end rings and with said coils adapted to hold said coils in relatively fixed longitudinal spaced relation with respect to each other while enabling said coils to deflect and deform laterally of the roller axis, the pitch of the coils of said helical portion being from about one-third to about one-eighth.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,057,365 10/1962 Buzzelli et a1. 13240 3,073,318 1/1963 Catania 13241 3,105,502 10/1963 Mitchell et al. 132-40 3,170,469 2/1965 Solomon 132-9 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,217,241 12/ 1959 France.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. L. W. TRAPP, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A ONE PIECE HAIR STYLING ROLLER, CONSISTING OF LONGITUDINALLY SPACED ELASTIC CIRCUMFERENTIALLY CONTINUOUS OPEN END RINGS, AN ELASTIC CONTINUOUS HELICAL PORTION HAVING A PLURALITY OF COILS LONGITUDINALLY SPACED FROM EACH OTHER AND DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID END RINGS WITH THE ENDS OF SAID HELICAL PORTION INTEGRAL WITH SAID RINGS, AND A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED LONGITUDINAL RECTILINEAR ELASTIC 